Density
by Christopher Nagura
Summary: Fuutarou Uesugi always believed that love was frivolous and a waste of time. Recent events caused a seed of doubt to be planted in his heart, but he still remains resilient. Will he discover the means of falling in love? Possible, but one thing's for sure though, who knew that a man so smart could be so dense? *Slow Updates*
1. Chapter 0

"Big brother! ! It's time for you to get up now! Otherwise we won't be able to get the early train ride!"

I slowly opened my eyes, the very familiar voice of my younger sister taking me out from my deep slumber. I got up with a grunt and Raiha practically shoved a towel and a clean pair of clothes into my hands before heading to the kitchen to prepare the food, all the while my father sang loudly, and poorly might I add, from the bathroom.

As my awareness slowly came back to me, I begin to recall what happened a few days that led me to my current situation. The trip to the hot springs resort and meeting the Nakano family there. Trying to uncover each girls' identity as they all dressed up as Itsuki. But most importantly of all,

I placed a hand on my lips, feeling my face burn up slightly as the memory of the kiss played back in my head. While I was slightly more confident that I knew how to differentiate the five of them, I was still unable to tell who had been the culprit that day. I wanted to rule some of them out, but since I've known them for more than six months now, I knew that those girls were extremely unpredictable at times, so I couldn't possibly assume it's someone without any concrete evidence.

I had been so lost in thought that I didn't even realise my father had exited the bathroom until he tapped my shoulder.

"Fuutarou, hurry up and bath, we don't want to be late after all. You know how your grandparents are when we arrive even a second late."

I nodded my head, recalling how grandpa acted if we were late. He would always act grumpy and strict to both me and dad, but never to Raiha, and he wasn't even trying to hide it.

Thus, I decided to forget about before and quickly head in to the showers. Hopefully dad hadn't used all the hot water in the shower…again.

**0-0**

"Phew, what a long journey it was!" my father exclaimed as he stretched his body while Raiha was looking around at the train station as I stood quietly from behind them. Like my dad had said, it was a very long journey from our place to our grandparents place since they lived at a peaceful village while we lived in the city.

Of course when I say that I meant my mother's parents, and not my dad's. Dad's parents lived in the city just like us, and we would usually visit them at least once every two weeks.

"Grandpa!" Raiha squealed as she ran over towards my grandfather who was standing at the side of the station.

"Ohh, Raiha, it's been quite a while since we last saw you. How've you been?" Grandpa asked curiously with a smile and Raiha began telling him all sorts of things while my dad and I stood behind them quietly watching.

"Glad to see that I've been missed by him…" Dad mumbled under his breath as I shook my head. There were plenty of other things that I could be doing now rather than being here for hours, and studying was definitely at the top of that list.

Grandpa, finally noticed the two of us standing at the back, flashed a smile at our direction, "Ah, Fuutarou, Isanari. Glad to see that the two of you have arrived safely as well."

'What do you mean by "as well" grandpa!' was what I wanted to say, but of course I didn't vocally announce my thoughts, knowing that Raiha would always be the favourite child especially since I caused them a lot of trouble when I was younger since I wanted to follow in my father's footsteps before.

"Well shall we get going already? I'm sure that grandma is tired of waiting for us already." Grandpa said as Raiha held his hand as they walked, cheerfully continuing off where she had left off in her story, leaving the two of us behind.

"Tch, pretty sure the same thing would've happened even without Raiha being here." Dad grumbled underneath his breath as he followed after them before I decided to follow in suit. It was already too hectic and it wasn't even noon yet.

After arriving at our grandparents home, we immediately began watching television as a group, watching all sorts of stuff that's on there especially Raiha, who has recently gotten hooked into romance shows, who was watching the screen intently as it was airing her favourite show at the moment.

My grandparents and father were talking to one another at the back but I could not hear as to what they were saying, not that I want to anyways. They were all probably just getting on dad's case for something… again.

Seeing as everyone was busy doing their respective activity, I decided that since I had nothing else to do, I would go and get some rest. Unfortunately my grandfather got out of the conversation with dad and dragged me to the back of the house where a vegetable garden greeted me.

It was rather nostalgic to see the place after quite some time. I could still recall all the times I spent playing around in the garden back when I was a child and when it hadn't been converted into a vegetable garden yet. Now, I wasn't all surprised at seeing how flourished the garden was considering my grandparents had been working hard on it for decades now.

Though that alone didn't answer my question. Why did he bring me here?

I turned to him, puzzled, and as if he had read my thoughts, my grandfather flashed me a huge smile as he held a straw hat in one hand while a hoe in the other.

"What is it grandpa?" I asked cautiously, staring at the two objects at his hand as he walked over towards me and placed the hat over my head and handed the hoe to me.

"Well you see, my back's been killing me over these past few days and grandma has been on my case, saying that I haven't been doing my job caring for the garden. So I was wondering…."

I gulped in fear, knowing what he was going to say in an instant before sighing. I definitely wasn't going to enjoy what was to come.

**0-1**

And I definitely had not enjoy it.

I was currently leaning leaned over, using the hoe's handle for support. Despite having the straw hat which protected me from the intensity of the sunlight, I was still sweating profusely. I turned to the side and glared at my uncle who was resting comfortably on his seat at the porch, drinking a can of beer.

"Wait a minute, why isn't dad helping me with this?" I asked curiously and grandpa stroked his chin for a bit before shrugging.

"I don't know, but keep at it Fuutarou and I'm sure you'll be able to finish it soon!" he laughed cheerily, a blush formed on his cheeks as I mentally sighed, too tired to be able to actually do it.

'Isn't it too early to be drinking beer?' I thought before pushing myself back up and continuing the task he had left for me. The faster I finish this, the faster I could go back to studying.

As I was about to start I heard someone making noise nearby which prompted me to turn my head towards the sound of the noise. There I saw a young boy with chestnut brown hair crying on the road and a woman who had black hair , most likely to be the boy's mother, standing beside him. The woman then proceeded to carry the boy into her arms as she cradled him gently in which managed to reduce his tears to mere sniffles. She then placed a soft kiss on his forehead and while I wasn't nearby at all, I could tell that the boy now sported a grin on his face.

It was normal for kids to turn from sad to happy in the span of mere seconds, after all, they're still trying to live life to the best they can and the only way they do so is by being optimistic, not that they knew that was the case at all, and behind them are their parents, supporting at any given point.

I carried on staring at them and for a split second, the colour of the boys hair turned a deep shade of blue. I then shook my head to stop myself from thinking any further and decided to carry on with the work, those vegetables aren't going to grow by themselves after all.

**0-2**

If there was one thing I had been expecting for the most during the entire trip to my grandparent's place, it was probably the food, and seeing my grandparents of course, but for the food as well.

After finishing my "chores", we immediately had lunch with them and it was sublime. My grandmother was an amazing chef and I felt happy that she's teaching Raiha how to cook the same way she does. She also wanted to teach me how to cook in the past but I refused, preferring to do some studies instead.

As we ate, Raiha began telling them all sorts of things happening in her school such as how she's coping with the school there, all the fun things she's been doing alongside her classmates and so on.

"Oh and big brother now has a job as a tutor!" Raiha exclaimed happily and the both of them looked intrigued by this news.

"Oh is that so?" Grandma said as she looked at me for confirmation to which I nodded my head without even staring away from the food.

"Well you've always been studying, nothing's wrong for wanting to share that knowledge with others. So, who are your students?"

Before I could even answer for myself, Raiha decided to take the initiative, "Big brother is teaching five female students and they're quintuplets at that!" she said excitedly and it was clear that the news shocked both my grandparents as their eyes were as wide as they could be.

"O-oh, is that so?" Why do you have to act so surprised like that? It isn't like I've never talked to a girl before.

"Well that's good for you Fuutarou. Hopefully from this you're able to find yourself a girlfriend."

The art of romance, something so minor yet major at the same time. If this had occurred before meeting those girls, I would have waved it off as nothing, believing that falling in love is a mere fantasy everyone has, and that it'd be a waste of time. However, that was not the case, and after recent incidents… It's become hard for me to ridicule such sincere feelings.

"I believe that it was around your age when your father got together with your mother. Perhaps you should do keep that in mind." Grandpa exclaimed and Dad snorted at that.

"Hah, I'd believe that my son is a complete bibliophile than him having a crush on a girl." I immediately glared at him.

"Just because I like to study doesn't mean I'm _into_ books!" though dad merely waved off my comment as nothing.

"Isanari, he's your son, surely you should have more faith in him." Grandma chastised him.

"Well of course I do, he inherited my good looks and charm after all." He said with a striking pose and a smile causing everyone in the room to sweat drop.

Sorry dad, but that was seriously uncool.

A short while later and Raiha, grandpa and dad all finished their meal and were currently watching a new popular television series that started airing just a few days ago, and by the looks of it, they were completely engrossed with the show, leaving grandma and I on the dining table. Not that I was complaining since there were still plenty of food left.

"Time flies by in a blink of an eye, don't you think Fuutarou?" grandma asked and all I could do was shrug which caused her to sigh.

"_Sighs_, but to think that you're already in your third year of high-school Fuutarou. You're going to start working next year, surely you've thought about your future plans?" Grandma asked as I thought about an answer to give.

"I don't know, I'll just go with the flow… I guess." I responded. I hadn't really given much thought for the future since all I really wanted was to get a high paying job so that I could help my family live a stable life.

"Despite changing your appearance guess you're still similar to your father." Grandma sighed as I tilted my head in confusion.

"Back when he was dating your mother, we asked him the same exact question and he gave an answer which is quite similar to yours."

I definitely did not know how to respond after hearing that. Should I be worried that history might repeat itself? Would I end up just like my father?

"_You're someone that we really need right now…"_

My eyes widened when I heard that voice, an image of a young girl with cascading red hair and sapphire blue eyes appeared in my head.

I could feel a smile forming on my face. Yeah, there was no way I would follow in my dad's footstep.

"I'm sure it'll work out fine." I said with confidence and while she looked a bit uncertain, she nodded her head nonetheless.

No more words were uttered after that and the only sound that filled the house came from the television.

**0-3**

"You all should try and visit us more often you know. It's been real quiet here each day and we would appreciate the noise every once in a while." Grandma said as grandpa was hugging Raiha, telling her not to leave him and some other things.

It was already late in the evening when we were done and although we wanted to stay longer, our train ride back home was soon and the next ride would be extremely late at night.

"We'll try, but only if this guy doesn't organise any more study sessions with his students." Dad said as he elbowed me softly to which I rolled my eyes at him.

"The only time I might do that is when they can score good grades on their own." I responded as dad chuckled.

"Weren't you hesitant to be their tutor at the beginning? What changed?" Dad asked and I could detect a hint of teasing in his tone to which I decided to ignore.

"We'll see you next time, bye grandpa, grandma!" Raiha said, waving at them as we walked off, headed towards the station.

As we walked to our destination, I couldn't help but think about my conversation with grandma before.

'What do I really want to be?'

That question lingered in my thoughts during our entire journey to the train station, even when we had gotten into one.

"Big brother." Raiha called out, breaking my train of thought as I turned to her.

"You're looking more tense than you usually do when studying." She pointed out and dad nodded his head beside her.

"She's right you know. Is there something on your mind?" I thought about it for a while, debating whether or not I should consult my father about this, before shaking my head, deciding that I'd think about it another time.

**0-4**

As soon as we got home, Raiha began cooking us dinner as I headed straight for my books. Although half the day was gone, at the very least I still had the entire night to make up for lost time. Fortunately for me, tomorrow is Sunday, meaning I could spend the entirety of tomorrow studying as well. It was perfect!

I smirked to myself as I opened a reference book, it was finally time to study!

_**Soon**_

"We'll head to bed first alright, Fuutarou? Make sure to blow out the candle once you're done studying." Dad said as he and Raiha laid down on the mattress while I was still sitting by the table.

Unfortunately, even without any distractions, I couldn't get anything into my head. Even after eating dinner, I still could not concentrate and stayed on the same page for minutes. It was as if there was a barrier in my head preventing the entry of anything I was reading.

I laid my head down on the table with a sigh, to think that I was stopping myself from actually studying. Had there been a time when I was like this in the past?

No. Never had there been a time when this happened, what was so different between then and now?

The answer was plainly obvious as five feminine figures appeared in my head. To think that I, who had isolated himself from the rest of his peers in order to achieve the best grades, would find myself tutoring five troublesome sisters.

In fact, if I had the chance to tell about the recent events that had occurred to my past self, I'm very sure he'd not believe me at all. I still can't believe it myself truth be told.

Closing the book, I decided that since I couldn't study today, I might as well get some rest for tomorrow.

However, before I could even get up, I felt a sudden vibration from my pocket and I quickly pulled out my phone and noticed that I received a message. Seeing as I only have a… select number of contacts from my phone I could immediately deduce that it was from one of them. After opening the message, it turned out to be from Yotsuba.

'Of course she's the one that texts me out of nowhere.' I thought to myself before reading the message,

-Uesugi-san, could you choose either 1 or 2 for us? We've gotten stuck in a certain predicament!-

I was definitely confused by the question but I felt no harm in responding back to her message,

-Then I'll pick 1. What is this for if I may ask?-

It barely took a few seconds before Yotsuba responded once again,

-The five of us were answering a quiz that appeared on television, and thanks to you, we managed to get the right answer. Thanks Uesugi-san! 😊😊😊-

-I'm guessing that since you all have time to play a quiz, you all managed to finish all the homework that I've assigned to you all?-

After standing by for a minute, I quickly realised that I wasn't going to get a reply soon, which was an automatic way for me to know that they hadn't completed it yet. Sometimes they were just too predictable.

You would think that after managing to pass their final exams would cause them to change, but I guess the more things that change, the more they are likely to stay the same.

I blew out the flames from the candle and laid back on my makeshift bed and tried to sleep, but somehow, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't sleep.

I sighed as I got up, perhaps a glass of water would be able to clear my head for a bit. Along the way to the sink, my phone vibrated softly as the light from my phone shone in the dark room.

Like I had expected, it was another message from Yotsuba,

-O-of course we did, anyways, something urgent just came up and I have to go now. Goodnight!-

Did she just stutter in a text message?

I couldn't help but sigh as I responded goodnight to her. Somehow, it seemed like the kind of response she'd give even in a normal conversation. And strangely enough, after reading that message, I felt a smile slowly crept up my face. It was rather weird. I decided to shake it off and think about it another time.

'What troublesome students.' That was the last thought I had in my head before falling into the land of slumber.

**End Chapter**

**Hey there everyone, hoped you guys enjoyed this brand new fanfiction that I wrote. I enjoyed the manga which was miles ahead of the Anime and after seeing some others post stories for this anime, I decided to follow suit. Anyways, in case you're wondering about the other stories that I had yet to post, don't worry, they are currently being written as fast as I can possibly go for. Though I'm not going to lie, it's been a bit hard for me to find the incentive to write anymore, hopefully I'll find a way to recover that! Also just to note, the pairing of the story has yet to be confirmed yet, as the story flows I think you can see where its headed. **

**Have a good one everyone!**

**-Christopher Dragkrow signing out**


	2. Itsuki I

**Chapter 1: Itsuki I**

The Library,

A rather convenient and useful place for those who wish to use their time effectively, especially so for those who are looking to study in a location where they would not get disturbed whatsoever.

And of course I fall in that description of people.

Staring at the massive library in front of me, I couldn't help but be left in awe at its massive size illuminated by the lights as an orange hue filled the skies above. I walked into the building, letting the chilly breeze of the air conditioner inside to cool down my body after my long walk here. Beautifully arranged shelves of books greeted my sight and I couldn't help but be thankful that they were all free to be used since I'd never be able to get the chance to purchase more than half of the books present, especially with my current salary.

In addition to that, there weren't many people inside, not that I expected there to be considering that it was currently the school holidays and I was sure that many students had plans elsewhere and that the library was the last place they planned in their heads.

Normally I'd choose to remain at home and study the entire day seeing as there was quite a distance between there and here, but the prospect of using the books provided in the library for FREE was too tempting even for me. Not to mention, Raiha had been complaining about me staying indoors for too long and that I needed to go out more often, so in any case, this was practically a win-win situation for me.

"Welcome to the-, oh? Fuutarou, long time no see." A familiar voice rang in my ears and I turned to meet the owner of the voice.

Sitting behind the counter was a middle aged man with short, dishevelled brown hair, a look which completely contrasts to that of what an actual librarian were meant to look like.

"Yo Haruki-senpai. It's nice to see you again." I greeted as he put down the book he was carrying on the counter.

"Come on, what's with the formality? We've been friends with each other for years now!" he complained and I couldn't help but shake my head at him.

Haruki had been the librarian there for as long as I remembered, since I would always come here to study with Takebayashi back in my delinquent days, he'd usually be the one who would watch over us, sometimes even interact with us. So it had been inevitable before we became friends.

"It's been a while since you last came here, so how's it going and how's your family been doing?" he asked with a smile and I couldn't help but grin as well.

"Well, dad has been coming home later from his job now that he got a small promotion and from that we managed to ease up some of the debt we owe, so I'd say that everything's going alright."

"Well that's good to hear and all but-" he then darted his head to the side, as if making sure that no one else was nearby, before gesturing me closer towards him to which I did so.

"I heard from a little birdie that you were now a tutor to five identical sisters…you're such a lucky guy, you know." He said, wagging his eyebrows with a smile on his face, and I silently groaned to myself, already knowing the identity of the mysterious 'little birdie'.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you were the one teaching them." I responded while he could only shrug his shoulders in response as quickly moved back to his seat.

"I really am wondering if you're a bibliomaniac with how you're acting." He sighed, shaking his head in the process and I could feel my eyebrow twitch in annoyance.

Why is everyone saying that?!

"I mean just think about it. You used to hang out with Takebayashi all the time back then, and now you're teaching five, and I'm assuming, beautiful sisters. No normal person wouldn't be interested at all!"

"If you're done speaking bullshit, I'll be off now." I made sure to make him hear my annoyance and I'm sure he did when he chuckled.

"Well in any case, enjoy your time here." He waved before returning to the book he was reading and I couldn't help but shake my head at him.

To think that someone like him was older than me.

However, there were some truth in his words…I would definitely be lying if I said I hadn't once thought that those five were beautiful. Though, in truth I've always thought of them as nothing more than idiots, so I guess that was the reason why? Perhaps I had only been more conscious of them ever since…

I quickly shook my head before any other thoughts plagued my mind. Today would be another day that I would focus on studying and not worry about anything else. Namely, tutoring five idiots.

I quickly got some books off the shelves and decided to search for more and the moment I turned into an aisle, I froze in place after noticing a particular figure with dark red hair-, scratch that, a very familiar figure with dark red hair, who was busy staring at the row of books in front of her. In her hands were some notebooks and some utensils.

That was the moment I recalled that their "new" house was actually nearby and I felt the urge to face palm for the mistake, though I must admit that I didn't expect any one of them to appear here of all places. Especially at a time like this.

I thought of ignoring said redhead and carrying on, but I knew I couldn't do so, not as their tutor anyways.

"Why are you here too?" I called out to her flatly and the redhead immediately stiffened the moment she heard my voice before turning back to face me.

"U-Uesugi-kun, what are you doing here?!" Itsuki called out to me with shock evident on her face and I couldn't restrain the sigh which escaped from my mouth.

And to think I thought I was going to be free from seeing them during my holidays. However, it would appear that fate had other plans for me.

"Probably for the exact reason as you." I responded before pulling out another book from the shelf and I could feel her blue eyes staring at me, or in particular the books I was carrying.

"You're going to be reading all of that?!" I could detect the disbelief in her tone and I flashed a smirk at her direction.

"Of course I am. Now that it's the holidays I need to make sure that I'm keeping up with my studies after all the tutoring I have with you idiots!"

"Hmph, well I'm going to study on my own as well. I don't need you to help me!" she retorted and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at that.

"As if you'd be able to understand everything without my help anyways." She immediately kept quiet and walked ahead of me and from there I knew I was the victor of today's argument.

We proceeded to sit at the same table, but on opposite ends, not that I cared anyways. As long as she didn't disturb me, I would be perfectly fine on my own.

**1-1**

A deafening silence filled the room and while the atmosphere was perfect to study in, that hadn't been the case whatsoever as I looked up from the book I was reading for the umpteenth time throughout the entire session and there I could see the troubled look which was plastered on my student's face which had been present since we first sat down.

I decided to ignore it, going back to the book that I was reading. If anything, she was the one who had said she didn't need my help in the first place.

I could hear another groan coming from her yet again and as I lowered my book, I could see her head lying on the table, and strangely enough there seemed to be some smoke coming out from her head.

Perhaps I had been studying too hard that I was beginning to hallucinate?

Whatever the case, I eventually placed my book down on the table and walked up towards her,

"You've stopped writing for a while now. Is there something which you don't understand?"

"N-no, I'm just trying to figure it out." She said as her head quickly shot back up and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her.

"Stop being stubborn and let me see it." I got up and read the question she was having a problem with

"You just need to apply the same formula you used before in order to find the x and from there you'll be able to solve it."

"Didn't you say that you wanted to study your own stuff?" she muttered underneath her breath.

"Even if I manage to learn more, I won't be able to feel better of myself if I just leave one of my students here to struggle." I explained and when I turned to face her, I realised she was facing downwards and tints of red dusted across her cheeks.

Was she sick or something? That would definitely explain her inability to answer these questions if that were the case…or maybe she was always this stupid?

She immediately turned to face me with a glare and I recoiled back from this. There was no way she could have read my thoughts…or could she?

I quickly coughed into my hand to compose myself before quickly pointing to another question on the book and told her to answer it when I suddenly realised something.

With everything that had happened after I discovered they had moved apartments, I had always been surrounded by at least three of them every single day. So it was weird to just have one of them be here with me without the others being somewhere around.

Despite meeting Itsuki first, she's probably the sister whom I don't spend much time with a ton, aside from Nino back when she hated my presence, but there were certain moments where the two of us would be alone. And if I recall correctly, one of those times included the time when Raiha dragged the both of us to the arcade, right as I was in the middle of studying as well, before the entire fiasco at the festival happened.

Why is it that every off day I have, I'd have to spend it with them? It was as if fate wouldn't allow me to rest for even a single day.

I turned my attention back to her and realised she was struggling with yet another problem based on how her pen hadn't moved for a while.

Guess she still hadn't fixed that problem of hers where she would spend all her time answering only a single question.

"How's the studying so far?" Haruki's voice resonated in my ears as I turned back to see him walking over towards us, holding a cup in his hand.

"Aren't you supposed to be sitting out in the front?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him but he waved it off.

"It's only for a little while. Besides, waiting a little never killed anyone did it?" He said as he handed the cup over to me, making me look at it in confusion.

"Aren't drinks disallowed in the library?"

"It's just a single cup, don't be such a worrywart." He said, patting my back with a smile.

"Um, I'm sorry to butt in, but do you two know each other?" Itsuki suddenly voiced out and Haruki instantly turned to face her, before turning back to me, raising an eyebrow as I sighed.

"Haruki, this is Itsuki, one of my students that you've heard about. Itsuki, this is Haruki, his family owns the library and he used to watch over me in the past."

"You also forgot to mention that we're friends." He pouted and I rolled my eyes at his claim, but didn't deny it and Itsuki seemed to have picked up on that fact.

"Wait, you have other friends?!" she exclaimed in shock and I could hear Haruki trying, but ultimately failing, to hide his laughter in as I shot an irritated look at her.

"Well it's nice to meet you Itsuki, I'll head back and get another cup for you." He said as he walked off, but before he left, he sent a wink at my direction.

I'm never going to hear the end of this from him…

**1-2**

As I took a sip from the drink Haruki gave earlier, I couldn't help but stare at my student who was busy looking through some of the reference books that I picked out earlier, her eyes never leaving the book.

Seeing as we weren't doing anything anyways, I decided to question her about something that had been bothering my mind for quite some time.

"So are you still planning on becoming a teacher?" I asked, remembering back to the final exam period when she suddenly expressed her desire of becoming one.

"Yes I am." She responded without any hesitation in her voice, her eyes flaring up with determination and even I was surprised by this.

When I first met them, aside from Ichika, who had a desire of becoming a movie actress, I'm certain that none of the other sisters' had even thought about their future.

These sisters really had grown from the first time I've met them…

"Well if you really want to be a teacher then you need to go to university, and considering your grades right now, that may seem like nothing more but a dream."

"Then Uesugi-kun, may I ask for your opinion on the matter?" I raised my eyebrow at her, letting her know I didn't know what she was implying.

"Do you think that I have a chance of being a teacher?" I looked at her for a bit as she placed her hands together and stared up at the ceiling, a nostalgic look appearing on her face.

"I've always admired my mother and I wanted to be so much like her that I'm even aspiring to be a teacher just like her…so I wanted to know what you think my chances are of being one." Itsuki asked and I thought about her question for a bit before giving my honest opinion.

"Not at all."

"Figures…" I heard her mutter underneath her breath as I sighed.

"At least that's what I would have told you had you asked me when I first started tutoring you." I finished, as I turned my head away from her, yet I knew that her gaze was on me.

"While you may be hard-headed, clumsy and a giant idiot..."

"Are you trying to lift up my spirits or dampen them?" she deadpanned but I ignored her and carried on,

"But I also know that you spent the most time studying among all your sisters. That amount of work that you've been piling up will surely come to fruition one day, and as your tutor I'll make sure of it." I said confidently, looking at her straight in the eye with her blue eyes staring back at me.

We carried on staring at each other before she eventually broke away, staring down at her knees once again.

"Now I can understand why Miku-" She muttered underneath her breath, and while I managed to catch a bit of what she said, the final part was too soft for my ears to catch.

"Hmm, what did you say?"

"N-nothing! Uhh, p-please help me out with this question!" she frantically brought the exercise book to me and while I decided to go along with what she wanted, I couldn't help but wonder what Miku had to do with any of this.

Deciding to shrug it off, I proceeded to carry on with the lesson.

**1-3**

"Are you feeling alright there?" I asked after catching the girl slowly beginning to doze off, for the umpteenth time in the past few minutes, before she quickly shook her head and flashed me a smile.

"O-of course I am!" though not a second later, an exhausted yawn escaped her lips which made me think to myself,

Just how long had they been studying?

Turning towards the clock that was on the wall, I was surprised to see that three hours had already passed since we first started.

I then took my phone, which I had silenced, from my pocket and turned it on and was immediately greeted by the sight of a text message from Raiha.

"**Big bro, when are you coming home? I've cooked your favourite meal and it's going to get cold if you're not back soon!"**

Upon seeing this message, I slowly got up from my seat, alerting the tired girl who looked at me in confusion, "We should probably head back now. I'm sure your sisters' are going to worry about you if you don't return."

Her stomach immediately growled loudly which caused her to blush in embarrassment as she nodded her head in agreement as we placed the books we borrowed back to their rightful places.

As we walked out of the library, I noticed Haruki flashed a smirk at me knowingly and I rolled my eyes at him in response. It's not as if there was anything between Itsuki and I, we were merely tutor and student.

The moon greeted us upon leaving the library and I told her that I'd walk her home and whether or not she was too tired to refuse, she went along with what I said. The streets, while it wasn't as hectic as it was during the morning hours, there were still a ton of people walking around. Despite all that, we managed to arrive to the apartment without any hassle.

"Are you sure you don't want to come in? I'm sure everyone would like to see you." She asked but I waved it off.

"Raiha already made food for me and I don't want to upset her by coming back later than I already am." I responded and just as I was about to walk off,

"Uesugi-kun, wait!" I immediately stopped as I turned back to face her,

"What is it?"

"T-thanks for your teaching today, I really appreciate it!" She said, and without wasting another second, she immediately took off towards her apartment and all I could do was watch her retreating figure.

I didn't even have the chance to say anything back to her.

I could only shrug before walking off the other direction, with my hands stuffed in my pockets. While I didn't get a chance to get much studying done for my own…in all honesty, it wasn't that bad a day.

**End Chapter**

**If you guys want me to update faster, please support me at: **

**kofi.c om (slash) christopherdragkrow**


	3. Miku I

**Chapter 2: Miku I**

It was meant to be a normal day where I'd study all day at home alone, seeing as Raiha went out to hang around with her friends from school while Dad left the house early since he had a huge project to work on.

It had been a long while since I had been granted this opportunity that I almost felt blessed. After all, while I do enjoy Raiha's presence at home, I knew for a fact that I wouldn't be able to concentrate as efficiently as I could without her in the house.

Unfortunately, before I even got the chance to open a single book,

-Fuutarou, could you come over to our house? I need your help with something.-

I received a sudden message from Miku, and without even thinking I found myself on the way over to the girls' house.

As I walked, I began wondering what her reasoning for asking me to come over. While most people would be excited at the prospect of being invited to a girl's house, especially one of the same age, but seeing as I've not only been there numerous of times due to being their tutor, I didn't really feel anything. Nor would I, since it was THOSE girls.

Returning back to the question at hand; seeing as I was her tutor there was only one thing I expected to help with, her studies. After bumping into Itsuki at the library, surely that would imply the others were keeping in touch with their studies as well.

And I smiled knowing that those girls were working hard even during the holidays. I couldn't help but feel proud at that fact, it seemed like only yesterday when they were failing their studies and rejected me as their tutor.

I managed to arrive rather quickly and when I entered their humble home I was prepared to begin another tutoring session,

However…

"You two will play as my parents, while I'll be me." Kiku said, pointing at me and Miku, who was the only one at home while the rest of her sisters' were out.

How on Earth did it come to this?

Rather than a tutoring session like I expected, it would appear that I was going to have to babysit Kiku once again.

"I'm sorry for asking you to come over like this, Fuutarou." Miku said apologetically and despite my initial shock, I could only wave it off.

Since I was already here, I thought that I might as well help her out.

"It's alright, but why are you the only one here? What about the rest of your sisters?"

"Well, today's usually the day where we would all do our own stuff, so Nino's out shopping with her friends, Itsuki's out exploring the town to check out some of the new restaurant's which opened up, Yotsuba's out helping the Basketball Club and Ichika is at work with the Director." I nodded my head, but a question suddenly came to mind.

"Wait, why couldn't he just ask someone else to watch over his daughter?" I asked curiously.

Seeing as he was in this line of work, surely he had some connections with people who might be able to take better care of his daughter rather than a high school student.

"Well… he would have, but according to Ichika, Kiku was demanding him to let you watch over her again and her Director seemed to be okay with that idea." She responded and I facepalmed.

I genuinely didn't know how to feel about that…Should I feel happy that she's taken a liking to me that she's willing to ask me to babysit her again, or should I feel upset that a perfectly good day of studying was about to be thrown away because of it?

It was definitely a hard question.

"Are you done talking? Let's play already!" the girl said rather impatiently and I was about to refuse. Just because I needed to babysit her, doesn't mean I have to do everything as she commanded. However, before I could even open my mouth, Miku suddenly pulled me closer towards her.

"I think Kiku-chan has been feeling lonely since her father's been very busy with work so he can't spend much time with her." When I heard that, I couldn't help but pity the girl and I sighed, deciding to raise my hands up in surrender for what's to come.

Perhaps it was my older brother instincts kicking in? After all, this wasn't the first time this happened. Whenever dad was busy with work, it was my duty to make sure that Raiha was happy.

"Fine, fine. Could you at least give us a scenario to work with?" I asked as the girl placed a hand on her chin.

"You're going to be at work and mom and I are visiting you because you forgot your lunch."

'What kind of scenario is that?!'

That definitely sounded like it came from a show that Raiha likes to watch.

"Fine…" I got up, but before we began, I quickly moved the table and other items that were laying around in the room away, just in case anything happens.

As soon as I was done, I started pretending that I was working in an office, and I silently gestured Miku to carry on with the act as well.

"Kiku-chan, do you want to come with me and see your father? Looks like he forgot his lunch again." Miku smiled and the girl smiled broadly and nodded her head, before proceeding to hold her hand.

Miku then pretended to knock on the door, even making the sound effects.

"Come on in."

"Daddy!" Kiku immediately let go of Miku's hand and ran over to be before hugging me, which surprised me since she was never this affectionate back then. Guess she really wanted to play her part well.

"Hey there Kiku." I patted her head before looking over to Miku and gave her a smile.

"Hey there Miku." However, before she could even respond,

"Hold on!" Kiku interrupted as she let go off me and shot a frown at me.

"You're not meant to call her by name, daddy." I was confused by this.

"Why not?"

"Well, before my mom left with her cheating partner, dad and her used to call each other 'dear' and nothing else."

Both Miku and I turned to each other in shock, does that mean…we need to do the same?

Just when I was about to refuse, I saw tears beginning to form in the girl's eyes which made me shut my mouth immediately. I internally sighed at the situation that I was put into.

I really wished I could go back home…

"H-hi…dear." I felt my face becoming warm when I said that. While it was all pretended, it was still rather embarrassing to say and I was certain that Miku was disgusted by what I've said based on how she's refusing to look at me.

"…ar…" Miku said something underneath her breath, but because she said softly I couldn't hear it.

"What did you say?"

"…dear…"

"Mommy, could you say it louder please?"

"H-hi, dear." She finally said, and I realised that her face was completely red.

"Are you alright Miku? Your face is red."

"I-I'm fine. Let's carry on with the next scenario!" she said, which confused me but I decided to shrug it off before turning over to Kiku.

"So what other scenarios do you want us to act out?" she thought about it for a while before finally coming up with one,

"You've just come back home after a long day from work."

Seriously, where on Earth does she get all these scenarios from?

Deciding not to question it, I pretended to open the door before walking forward, "I'm home." I called out.

"Welcome back Fuu-, dear." Miku said as she walked towards me, and I could tell that she still wasn't used to calling me that based on how she's looking at the ground.

"Daddy!"

"Yo, Kiku."

"I want you to give me a hug!" she exclaimed before lunging towards me. I was caught off guard by it but fortunately, I managed to catch her, while also managing to keep my balance.

"Oi that was dangerous! Also, you're heavy you know that!"

"That's not something you should be saying to a girl." Miku inputted.

"Daddy, could we go to the amusement park?" she asked, looking at me with expectant eyes.

"We can go there next time. It's probably closed already by now." She frowned when she heard that, and before I could even say anything to comfort her.

"Kiku-chan, would you like a snack?" Miku asked with a smile, holding a bag of chips in her hands.

"Yes!" she quickly snatched the bag from Miku.

"Oi, you need to say 'thank you' when you receive something from others." I reprimanded.

"Sorry…" she pouted, as she looked down.

"It's alright, as long as you don't do it again, alright?" Miku said in a tender tone, as she placed a hand on her head.

"Alright, thanks mom!" with that, she quickly opened the bag and munched on her food.

If this was what it's like to have children, I probably won't want to have any in the future if that's the case.

* * *

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the three of us were currently sitting on the ground for a break since Kiku ran out of scenarios for us to act out.

"So what do you want to do next, Kiku-chan?" Miku asked with a tender smile and I couldn't help but realise that she played her part as a mother really well.

Anyways, the girl immediately turned to me and I couldn't help but shudder for what she's about to say.

"I want you to give me a piggyback ride!" she demanded, extending her hands out to me.

"When did you start acting like such a brat? Weren't you trying to act more mature before?!" I said, completely surprised at her new attitude.

"Last time you told me that I shouldn't bottle up my feelings anymore, so that's exactly what I'm doing!" she said proudly and I resisted the urge to facepalm.

Never would I have realised that my own words would be used against me.

I relented and bent down to allow the girl to grab on my shoulders, however, due to our massive height difference the girl had trouble getting on, even with me bending over.

"Here, let me help." Miku said, as she helped lifted up the girl enough for her to grab onto my shoulders.

"Thanks, mom!" she smiled happily and with that I quickly walked around the small house, hoping to entertain the girl as best I could.

Miku, on the other hand, was sitting down as she watched us while making a small tune by clapping her hands with a tender smile on her face.

After a few minutes, I eventually got tired and put the girl down, and fortunately, she was satisfied with those few minutes.

"C-could you let me rest for a bit? I'm exhausted." I seriously needed to work on my stamina when I get the chance.

"There's no time to rest because I want you to be my horse!" she cheered and I gave her a deadpan stare.

She wasn't being serious…was she?

Upon seeing the expectant look on her face, I could only sigh and got on all fours, while Miku helped placed her on my back.

The moment I felt her weight on my back, I could already tell that my back was going to be completely sore tomorrow.

"Go, go, go!" she cheered and at her call, I instantly moved arms and legs forward as I began walking around the small apartment.

Much like before, I could only go on for a few minutes, and the moment she got off, I immediately dropped to the ground with my vision starting to blur from all the sweat that was falling down my face.

'Please, just feel tired already for the love of all that is holy!' I thought, already feeling my exhaustion start to kick in.

"Let's do it again!" she said excitedly, her eyes shining brightly like stars. I quickly looked over to Miku, hoping that she would come to my assistance, only to see the excited look plastered on her face as well.

"You can do it, Fuutarou!" she cheered.

I could only scream internally as I waved the white flag, silently preparing myself for what's to come.

* * *

"Guess she's finally asleep." I mentioned softly, looking at the girl, who tortured me to no end for hours, currently laying on my lap without a care in the world.

If she really wanted to feel comfortable she should have slept on the futon, not on my lap!

"Thank goodness for that, I was starting to feel exhausted as well." Miku panted, sitting down beside me as she stared at the sleeping girl.

"She looks really cute when she's asleep." She said and I raised an eyebrow on confusion, staring at the sleeping girl.

"Really? Because right now I don't see anything about her that's cute." I responded in all honesty.

"You need to be more mindful with your words sometimes Fuutarou. If she were to hear that, I'm sure she'll make a fuss about it." I thought about it for a second and immediately shuddered.

It would certainly be troublesome if she made a huge fuss over something so minor.

"Daddy…I love you…" The girl mumbled in her sleep.

"If you really miss your father that much, you should tell him that yourself, you brat." It was probably due to the moment, I decided to pet her head gently, like how my mother used to all those years ago.

"You'd make a really good father in the future, Fuutarou." Miku said with a teasing smile on her face.

"Shut it." I looked away to hide my embarrassment.

"In any case, thanks for helping me babysit her, Miku. I'm not sure I would have been able to deal with her on my own."

"It's fine, besides, this is the only thing that I can do…" She said with a rue smile on her face, very similar to the one all that time ago.

"After all, in comparison to the rest of my sisters, I'm a failure."

"I think it's still too early for you to even consider yourself a failure." I responded to her, trying to be as gentle as I could. After all, out of all her sisters, Miku was the most pessimistic out of the bunch, which can be problematic at times.

"Even though I have no dream in mind?" Miku said, sinking her face deeper into her knees.

"Everyone already seems to have a dream of their own. Ichika wants to be an actress, Nino wants to open up a restaurant, Yotsuba wants to be able to help others and Itsuki wants to be a teacher just like mom. Meanwhile, all I'm doing is letting time just pass by." I frowned when I heard that.

I could somehow relate to how she felt. After all, that was exactly how I felt in the past. Had I not met Rena all those years ago, I was sure I wouldn't have been able to be half the person that I am today.

In fact, I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten the chance to befriend any of them if that were the case.

"Didn't I tell you before?" I raised one finger and held a confident look on my face as Miku looked up to face me.

"I'll make sure that the five of you graduate with smiles on your faces…but not just that. I'll have you all graduate with a clear path in sight."

She looked at me with a straight look on her face and I was worried that I had said anything out of hand, but before I could correct myself,

"I'm glad that Fuutarou is our tutor." She finally said with a smile and I responded it with one of my own, "Well of course, there's only one me after all!" I said with full confidence, it felt nice to be recognised.

However, all my confidence disappeared within a flash when she suddenly rested her head on my shoulder, which caused me to panic at her sudden action.

"O-oi, Miku, what are you doing?!"

"We're still playing as mother and father after all. So please keep it down, Kiku-chan is asleep after all." She responded softly, but I still managed to catch it. Her soft breathing tickled my ears, but at least it confirmed that she was asleep.

While I opened my mouth ready to protest, after seeing the peaceful look adorning her face, I decided to keep my mouth shut. The only thing I could do in this situation is sigh before I adjusted my body in order to make it more comfortable for both of us.

I know I had said I wanted to be more helpful, but I didn't expect to be used as a pillow.

These girls seriously need to learn some tact. Though at the same time, I felt sort of happy that they trusted me enough to do something like this.

Meanwhile, at the back of my mind, I couldn't help but hope that the two would wake up soon before the others get home, because I really had no intention of explaining myself if they were to catch me in this situation.

**Omake (Switches to Normal POV)**

Miku cracked open an eyelid and stealthily observed Fuutarou who looked to be lost in thought.

'Does he know I'm just faking it?' Despite her best efforts, she couldn't stop herself from grinning. She was sure that if she got caught, he'd scold her for this, but even so, she continued feigning sleep.

'Sorry everyone, but it's only fair if it's first come first served…'

**End Chapter**

**If you guys want me to update faster, please support me at: **

**kofi.c om (slash) christopherdragkrow**


End file.
